stokebynightfandomcom-20200216-history
November 2005
Bureaucracy, Media, Politics And so, five years on and the average man on the street still doesn’t know what his local councillor is doing for him. Five years ago a survey into what the cities inhabitants think of their local government was launched and the answers were not encouraging. Many stated that they declined from voting as one party was pretty much the same as another. Something had to be done. Five years on and a second survey has returned with the same results, much to the concern of all concerned. The big question then is what exactly has the council done for us in the interim, and more importantly, where are they spending our money? Bureaucracy, Legal, Media, Police, Politics After years of legal wrangling the ombudsman set up to determine with whom the design of the Hartshill Development Project has finally released its findings, laying the blame squarely at the feet of Sean Bowden, despite protests from all of the other parties involved. The ombudsman found that the assassinated politician used his political influence to change the design to a more traditional style of construction, despite advice from both the consultants and the contractor involved. However, many have criticised the decision stating that it would have been better to have returned a verdict of liability on all parties, rather than slander the name of a dead man. The report will be made public next month when all parties have had a chance to respond to it. Finance, Politics, Transport Whatever happened to the plans for a monorail system across the city? Once it was mooted as the next big break through in the way in which people would travel around the city, but when the costs became exorbitant the plans were scrapped. Rumour has it however that a group of bankers within the city may be interested in redeveloping the idea once again, focussing initially on linking the six towers of the Phoenix Project before branching out into the surrounding area. Whether their plans will come to fruition (or the rumours are merely speculation in a slow news week) remains to be seen, but the development of a new form of transportation would finally break the monopoly that the bus service appears to have at the moment. Bureaucracy, Transport Want to know where the legendary first stage of the city’s monorail system really is? You know the one that was such a huge deal for the city a couple of years ago? It’s rusting in a mine, buried deep under the city. They could never get the traction system to work and it constantly derailed on corners, which would have had predictable results. The rails that had been put in place were quietly removed one night and the whole affair was covered up. Many of the councillors involved in the previous attempt are hoping that the new plans will go away; else further examination of the previous scheme occurs. Bureaucracy, Finance, Industry, Media, Politics Whilst it is illegal for GAOM to operate companies within the country, the status of those gaining money from the trade of its shares remains less clear cut. The company continues to trade healthily (but as confined its operations to South America), resulting in a series of end of year financial bonuses for its major shareholders. Talks are now underway as to whether confiscate all British held shares a means of financing the continued redevelopment of the city following the events of December 2003. Bureaucracy, Media, Politics, University Despite numerous attempts the city’s school system still appears to be failing its students. Sure, the universities have got better due to private funding and many industries have begun to initiate apprentice schemes, but for many the first stage of education is still failing. Suspensions and exclusions remain high for students across the city, but the council has commented that they are unable to provide further funding without a subsequent rise in taxes. One question remains on the matter; with all of the money that the council received from the European Union, why has none of it been spent on primary education? Media, Politics, Street, Transport, University Whilst “The Guardian” continues to pound the streets of Shelton, fighting crime and protecting the week it would appear that many of the gangs that have plagued the area have moved onto the city’s campus, with reports of attacks on students once again on the rise. The Constabulary has been quick to increase patrols in the area and has publicly stated that the trouble is not being caused by the so-called “Asian Militia” that was blamed for the troubles some years ago. The university is reminding all students that it is safer to travel in groups and to use one of the city’s many taxi firms if you cannot avoid travelling at night. Industry, Media, Politics, Underworld With The Gambinos out of the picture will the city’s unions finally be able to operate free from outside interference? In the past a number of industrial actions have been taken in order to place financial pressure on companies in order to increase revenue for the bosses, but with neither “The Sandernacht Group” nor “The Consortium” showing an interest this may no longer be the case. Perhaps the unions will make an attempt to gain a political momentum once again, after all the alleged links to organised crime was seen as one of the reasons that the current government was so keen to distance themselves from them. Only time will tell, but if they do regain a political strength how long before someone else attempts to gain control of them? High Society, Media, Occult A local gallery is to exhibit a retrospective of politically influenced graffiti from across the city in the New Year. The exhibition, entitled “Paint it Black” will utilise actual murals and photographs of past murals to show how the voice of the city’s youth has changed over the years. The centre piece will be one of the infamous “Tell-Tale Murals” from early 2001, although which one has not yet been revealed. The murals gained a degree of infamy when one of them was responsible for the resignation of former council officer Adam Dobson, when one of them showed him in a very private moment. The exhibition is to run for three months before another similar exhibition begins in Manchester. Bureaucracy, Police, Politics The Constabulary has ordered the release of a number of “Political Dissidents” arrested in the Castelan purges of 2001 when investigations into the arrest indicated that the charges made were erroneous. The Constabulary continues to review all convictions made by Castelan, but the sheer volume has made the task a never-ending struggle. A spokesman for The Constabulary commented that less than five thousand cases remained to be reviewed and that they hoped that the remaining back-log would be cleared by the start of the New Year. High Society, Occult, Politics, University Local historians are petitioning the council to allow for excavation of the remains of the footings to Hanley Park Castle in order to create a lasting monument to the fallen construction. The final visible remnants of the castle were destroyed in a lightning strike in 2001 and subsequently removed due to safety issues by Castelan. The group, which also has backing from the Unification Theorists Elect, wants the footings to be exposed in as part of plans to redevelop the park. Media, Police, Transport “The Phantom Highwayman Strikes Again”, no, it isn’t the title of the latest Hollywood action film, but rather the rather spurious headline that one local newspaper ran following a multi-car pile up on the A500 was reputedly caused by an unknown pedestrian walking amongst traffic. Investigations by The Constabulary quickly established that the accident had in fact happened after a motorist had had a heart attack and was wandering on the road in a confused state, with disastrous results. Well, never let the truth get in the way of a good story as they say! Occult Power flows through the land, sometimes pooling around a rock, a tree, a bare patch of land, sometimes leaving a place altogether. This ebb and flow is a natural occurrence, a mystery of nature, something we should embrace, not something we should attempt to culture and control. If a place wishes to be dead of these energies we must respect its wishes. ~ Caoilfhionn Ashen, Staffordshire Moorlands. Media, Occult Keen to regain a title many were secretly glad was gone, Stoke is once again becoming the apparent “Mecca for weirdness” that it was some years ago, with strangely mangled bodies turning up everywhere, odd outbreaks of psychological problems and the like. Who knows, maybe it’s a cyclical thing, with one year appearing to be more normal than the next? Legal, Media, Police, Politics The Constabulary is close to closing its investigations into the alleged activities of G8 Suppress, specifically their involvement in the bombing of the city’s transport network and other targets that left over ninety dead. Castelan used the attacks as an excuse to try to gain a firmer control on the manner in which the city functioned (a ploy that worked for a number of years) but fresh evidence has indicated that the attacks may have been carried out by a second, unrelated group. The Constabulary is keen to point out that the subsequent attacks (except for that of December 2003) were the work of the terrorist organisation, but that it is looking increasingly like they had no involvement in the initial attack. Bureaucracy, Media, Politics Why does the city have so many problems in its sewers? After all the network has been significantly upgraded at least twice in the last five years and has the capacity to cope with at least twice the amount of waste water that the city can produce. One possible reason is that someone doesn’t want it to be right and is trying to use it as a means of controlling progress in the city (after all, a city’s growth can be severely curtailed if its waste management is not up to scratch), although to what end remains a mystery. Church, Legal, Media, Politics The first scheduled releases of former members of Nicholas Raymond’s “Secret Army” are scheduled for the New Year, but will be limited to those who had only limited involvement in the group. Many of his former followers were arrested following his disastrous attack upon a Masonic meeting which left Raymond himself dead, and subsequent arrests of his followers not involved directly in the attack followed. Although they had had no actual involvement (or none could be found) in the attack itself, many were found guilty of related charges. The Constabulary has commented that it will be keeping a close watch on their activities to ensure that there is no similar uprising in the future. High Society, Media, Politics What involvement will the Phoenix Project have in this years planned Christmas festivities? Many have been reluctant to use the venue since the events of December 2003 out of respect for those killed in Castelans attempted coup, but others are now commenting that it is perhaps time to put the past behind us and look to a new future. The council however remains tight lipped about its plans, commenting that the public shouldn’t have any expectations about what is going to happen. Media, Occult, Politics When did the Unification Theorists Elect change from their original agenda? Once it was all about exploring the reaches of the human mind through the consumption of dubious quantities of drugs, now it seems to be all about maintaining a respectable public face and co-operation with the authorities. Or maybe that’s just the price they’ve had to pay in order for the authorities to turn a blind eye to their activities, after all if they manage to produce useful results, who cares how they get them? Media, Police, Street, Underworld So have The Gambinos left the city for good? It’s been two months since the last major incident involving them was reported and many within the authorities are hoping that this will mark the third month without them. The Constabulary continues to heavily patrol their former territories in order to prevent them (or any other gang for that matter) from gaining a foothold again, but has noted that any problems encountered have generally been low key in nature. The patrols are scheduled to happen for a further four months, whilst the city’s financiers are also raising money to develop facilities in the area to prevent teenagers from becoming involved in gangs once again. High Society, Media, University The first book about the Keele “Killing Pit” has been released too little fanfare. The work, a spurious conspiracy regarding the supposed events that happened at the allegedly fake site, details that the murders were as a result of a long standing family feud between to ancient dynasties that is still going on. The anonymously published work (which was published by a vanity press) has been roundly condemned by academics at the university as a work of pure fiction, but this hasn’t stopped healthy sales of the book amongst local people. Legal, Media, Police, Politics Will anyone ever be able to name those involved at the highest levels of “The Sandernacht Group” except in death? Castelan reputedly had the information on numerous occasions but never felt confident enough to release it, whilst The Constabulary is also still sitting on the information awaiting confirmation of its authenticity. Only new Chief of Police, John Winters has been allowed access to view the list of names, and he’s keeping quiet on the subject despite a number of high profile monetary offers by a number of tabloid newspapers. High Society, Media, Transport One form of transport that continues to enjoy a renaissance are the city’s canals, but not for the manner in which those originally involved in the opening had intended. No longer used as a means of smuggling drugs into the city, the canals are one of the few successful tourist ventures to emerge in the last five years (although numbers are down this year due to the bypass works for the A500), bolstering the almost stillborn tourist economy in the city. High Society, Occult, Police, University Keele University has finally confirmed that the Egyptian pieces found at a (supposedly fake) archaeological site on its campus are in fact an elaborate hoax. The confirmation came following years of research in conjunction with the British Museum over the authenticity of the pieces. The investigation will now switch to who is responsible for the forgeries, with the chief suspects being a number of former students at the university. Occult, Street, Underworld Why do so many of the city’s gangs choose to use occult paraphernalia as part of their daily life, after all its not like magic really works and many gang-bangers would prefer to rely on a .45 rather than a magic stick. But still many use more esoteric means as a way of maintaining control on the streets (in fact, only the recently emerged “Consortium” appear to have no occult connections), an explanation for Castelans “occult purges” of its early tenure? Media, Police, Politics Do you still get goose-bumps when you see a Black Ford Galaxy? When you hear the sound of a low flying helicopter circling overhead? Castelans legacy of fear continues with many reporting that they actively avoid contact with two of their most potent symbols, despite assurances from both the council and The Constabulary that they are no longer active in the city. In light of this The Constabulary has decided to hold a number of Open Days where members of the public will be able to come and view selected operations (some will remain off limits for security reasons) in a hope of increasing confidence in their activities. Bureaucracy, Media, Police, Politics It’s been eleven months since Andrew Sant was last seen (his body was never recovered from the crash site) and many are asking that the normal seven year waiting period be waived and that he is declared dead in order to close the book on his legacy. Others are less keen to do this, stating that it would be a final irony if a man who had brooked standard procedure for most of his life was finally held prisoner by bureaucratic channels. Media, Politics, Street Where did “The Daughters of the Desert” go? Rumour has it that they were taken under the protective wing of a businessman in the city, although no one is willing to name names for fear of legal recrimination. What is known is that The Constabulary have arrested only a few of those previously involved in the gang, although a number of outstanding convictions remain. Meanwhile, Chinese whispers continue to prosper about the gangs supposed fate, although no firm answers have been found yet. Legal, Media, Police, Politics One of the officers involved in the transportation of G8 Suppress leader Steven Thomas, Charles Antler, has finally admitted that the deaths of Thomas and his followers had been planned in advance and that the apparent rescue attempt was undertaken by off duty Castelan officers. The statement (made from prison where Antler continues to serve twenty years for a number of convictions of murder in December 2003) is the first official confirmation by those involved that the operation was illegal. Why Antler has chosen now after a year of silence to confess is unknown, especially as it was stated at his sentencing that given the severity of his crimes he would not be given early parole. However it does shed light on the “Wheels within wheels” that existed within Castelan, and the clearly delineated hierarchy that existed within the organisation. Bureaucracy, Finance, Politics The redevelopment of Chesterton has finally been given that go ahead after local councillors and a panel of experts rejected the case for preservation on the grounds of “historical significance”. Unfortunately the project is likely to be stalled again following the admission that the monies set aside for the project were spent elsewhere. Further funding is now being sought in order that the project can hopefully commence in the new financial year. Finance, Industry, Media, Politics Rumour has it that industrial giant Kiln Industries may once again be in the midst of a reshuffle, although no one connected to the company will confirm these rumours of course. This will mark the third reshuffle in as many years and industry analysts are now speculating as to whether the company can survive another one. Kiln has fallen far down the pecking order within the city, running a distant fifth to Audax, MCC, Nakara and Reed in the pre-tax profits stakes. Whether the company will ever be able to return to its former glory remains to be seen (after all, Reed managed it following a disastrous 2004), but the signs are not good. High Society, Media, Politics, University Negotiations are underway between the authorities and Staffordshire University over the right to view Sean Bowden’s private notes regarding Castelan as part of research into a biography being written about the deceased politician. The notes were impounded by The Constabulary as part of their investigations in Castelans activities, and were subsequently covered by the Official Secrets Act, but remain a source of interest to many. The biography (which is being officially endorsed by Bowden’s family) will focus upon the last five years of his life and the events that led to his assassination. Media, Police The Constabulary has confirmed that the recent murder of one of its officers was not the work of the Endon Butcher, but rather part of a gang related initiation. The murder, which sent ripples through the police community, was originally attributed to the serial killer, but subsequent investigations have shown clear differences in the modus operand of the killers. Investigations are to continue. Finance, Industry, Legal Following a years worth of delays the “Leek Mainframe” project has finally been completed. The project, designed to be a secure data facility for a number of companies in the city, was delayed following problems with on-site security and a number of structural collapses. The mainframe is due to go online in the New Year following a series of tests and final tweaks to the controlling software. Health, Police, Street, Underworld You hardly hear anything about it anymore, but there is still “Milk” available on the streets if you look hard enough. Whilst the official figures show that the number of addicts is decreasing monthly, the truth of the matter is that many have switched to “Milk” substitutes, often derived by refining the liquid that was used to lubricate the Saturn XI’s revolutionary wiring system (a system that has since been restricted to military facilities due to their nature). A growing trade has flourished since the start of the year (when “Milk” supplies first began to dry up) in wiring removed since the findings into “Milk” addiction. New “Milk” is often of a poorer quality than the real drug, with even more extreme side effects. The authorities are asking that all materials that have been tainted by “mil” be treated in a similar manner to nuclear waste in order to reduce future trading possibilities for the drug. Health, Media, Politics The final victim of Castelans fake terrorist attack of December 2003 has finally been identified as Charles Hart, a vagrant who is thought to have moved to the city from Manchester in the early months of 2003 and to have been imprisoned (and subsequently executed with no just cause) by Castelan to increase the death toll ahead of their operation. Charles Hart raises the death toll to three hundred and fifty three who were killed as part of the operation (this figure does not include those who were killed after December the 5th). Mr. Hart will be buried along with the other victims in the memorial gardens in Shelton in early December. Occult, Street Whatever happened to Sid the Shreiker? One minute hardly a month went by without him making one prophetic statement or another and then suddenly he vanished from sight, only to be replaced by a rag-bag of pale imitations (all of whom may be as accurate as he was, but none of them having a single percentage of the personality). Maybe he just decided to get out of the city having had enough of the constant threats to his life from various quarters. Health, Media, Police It’s been over twelve months since the last official sighting of “The Samurai” and The Constabulary is now considering closing all files on him and declaring the case closed, effectively freeing up resources to pursue other issues. One issue still to be resolved is whether there are any links between “The Samurai” and “The Guardian” (other than them both being the type of lunatic that feel it necessary to have a superhero persona, Freud would definitely have something to say on the matter), but this will be covered by the ongoing investigation into the activities of the city’s new vigilante. Legal, Police, Street Thought that all of Castelan’s records were destroyed along with their headquarters? Think again. Rumours have begun to emerge of a black market trade in salvaged hard drives taken from the wreckage, with everyone from researches to terrorists interested in buying no matter what the level of damage to the data. The Constabulary is trying to keep a lid on the situation but a number of recent high profile attacks in the city’s underworld may have been as a result of information bought in this manner. Still, you’ve got to have some fairly serious equipment to even recover the data; most of the hard drives were magnetically scrambled in the blasts that destroyed the headquarters. Media, Police, Underworld. Its not just Castelan data that has created a black market, rumour has it that some enterprising technicians have managed to bypass the security measures on a cache of former Castelan weapons are no looking to sell them to the highest bidder. Anyone interested will have to have a serious amount of cash however; these are amongst the most advanced military issue weapons available and would be a serious boost to the capabilities of any criminals that could lay their hands on them. Finance, Legal, Media, Police, Politics Richard Fellows, the former Associate Director for Financing at Castelan, was arrested trying to return to the country last month on undisclosed business. The arrest marks the first significant apprehension since the February 2004, and leaves only four outstanding warrants for the heads of the company. Mr. Fellows has been charged with Conspiracy to Pervert Justice, the financing of an illegal military operation and treason (although the latter is likely to be thrown out immediately on a technicality). His trial will begin in the New Year. Occult, Street, Underworld Remember, you can never kill a ghost. That’s what Sandernacht is, a ghost, a myth, a spook story to frighten everyone. Kill one Sandernacht and two more step in to replace him. The proof is out there for everyone to see, they just don’t want to know the truth. Sandernacht was “killed” over eighteen months ago and still they’re the biggest criminal group in the city by a long shot, no matter what The Constabulary or anyone else tries. I’m telling you, Sandernacht’s here to stay. ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station. Legal, Media, Politics The three foreign nationals arrested for breaking and entering at Reed Communications premises last year have finally been released when their diplomatic status was finally confirmed. The confusion arose out of the belief that the papers they were carrying may have been faked and the unwillingness of the Singapore authorities to confirm their status as diplomats (for fear of raising further questions about why the Singapore government was backing an illegal operation). Confirmation was finally gained after liaison with a number of intelligence agencies from other countries who confirmed that the men arrested had been released in their jurisdictions following investigations. The three are now considering suing The Constabulary for wrongful imprisonment. Occult, Underworld It takes a lot to make a very special bullet, on just right for the job, but occasionally someone will come forward with enough dough to warrant the time and effort. Each of these bullets is treated as a work of art, although it is only in its performance that the final masterpiece is seen. A bullet is nothing without a target, and a bullet that has known its targets name since birth cannot miss. I take pride in my work, I’m good at what I do, why shouldn’t I? ~ The Caster. Occult, Police, Street Have you seen that CCTV video, the one that looks like a cheap knock-off of The Matrix? You know, the one with the guy running along the walls and ceiling and shit? Well it’s real. A friend of a friend heard it from this guy that an officer in The Constabulary snuck it out of the surveillance room hoping to make a fortune off of it; only he got caught trying to sell it to some tacky TV show. Problem for The Constabulary was that they didn’t manage to stop him loading onto the net, and now everyone’s sharing it. That’s why the authorities are so keen to stop everyone file sharing, they don’t want truth like this to get out! Now where did I put that alien autopsy footage you were looking for? High Society, Media, Politics Commander Jameson, the officer in charge of the reclaiming of Stoke-on-Trent from Castelan troops in the coup of 2003 is to be knighted in the New Years honours list. The decision has been leaked to the city’s media early ahead of him being given the Freedom of the City as part of the Christmas festivities. Jameson has yet to comment on the news but a press statement is scheduled on his return from Iraq next month. Finance, Industry, Legal, Media, Politics Rowland Chemicals, the company responsible for the pollution of water in the Staffordshire Moorlands that led to severe hallucinations for many, has been fined one million pounds for failing to take adequate safety measures to prevent such an occurrence. The fine spells the death of the company, which has traded poorly since the event, and it has gone into voluntary liquidation. High Society, Media, University KeeleUniversityis to open an exhibition of the rescued pieces of “The White Room” on campus in order to raise funds to further research the area. Following the criminal attack on the archaeological site that led to the destruction of what was described as “the most significant archaeological find in the area for over a century” excavations to rescue remaining elements discovered a larger network of caves below the initial ante-chamber. The area has since been sealed off ahead of further investigation. Legal, Media, Police Mark Roberts, the head juror at the trial of Andrew Sant, has been found dead in his home in what The Constabulary describes as suspicious circumstances. Mr. Roberts was found in an almost perfect example of a locked room mystery (the door was locked from the inside, cause of death was a gunshot to the temple and no reside of any gunpowder or other chemicals were found on him), and further investigations by The Constabulary indicate that he had no apparent enemies which would explain his death. The coroner has so far recorded an open verdict. Finance, Media, Politics The Swiss authorities have released information that following the theft of thirty six billion dollars worth of gold from one of its vaults, the authorities removed a small percentage of each lead bar left in its place for testing, and that subsequent to this, these samples have gone missing? Why is it believed theft of a small quantity of lead is so important? The theft is the only clue to who may have been behind the initial theft itself. Swiss authorities continue to liaise with Interpol over creating a list of possible suspects. Media, Police, Politics, Street It’s been nearly six months since we last heard of “White Flowers”, and the American and Swiss authorities are hoping that he will not return. No one is any closer to identifying the terrorist / freedom fighter (delete based upon political standpoint), and many suspect that they never will. The first serious research into the phenomena has begun, with the primary focus being on what he was fighting for (the list of possible reasons is myriad). Police, Street Hey, I thought there weren’t supposed to be any Castelan officers in the city any more? So how come I keep seeing “Men in Black” all over the place, making measurements and taking pictures? Or are you telling me that the people that look so similar to Castelan have got nothing to do with them? ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station. Police, Street, Underworld Well, the Lupus Sarcina must rate as one of the shortest lived terrorist groups this city (or the world for that matter) has ever seen. One minute they’re planting bombs outside Territorial Army Barracks, the next they’ve disappeared completely and not even The Constabulary (or other agencies) can find them. Not that the criminal underworld is hiding them, rumour has it that a number of high profile figures in the criminal world placed bounties on the heads of anyone found harbouring them. Bureaucracy, Finance, Industry, Legal Contractors at the site of the sixth Phoenix Tower have confirmed that the machinery used to complete the demolition of the final part of the GAOM tower was bought into the city before the necessary permits were in place, hence the cloak of secrecy over their actions. The machinery used focussed sound waves to “disintegrate” the final concrete footings, rather than break them out by hand (a process which would have delayed construction works by months). The local council has given the contractor a cursory one pound fine to indicate that whilst their actions were illegal, they were not acting in an unsafe or dangerous manner. Works to the replacement tower are due to be completed in 2007. Legal, Media, Police, Street Remember the murder of eight suspected sex offenders at the beginning of the year? The Constabulary don’t appear to, having already closed the case despite having found no suspects despite investigations on a number of fronts. A darker suggestion is that the case has been closed for other reasons, that someone wanted the murders hushed up and that The Constabulary may have found itself some funding in exchange for its silence. Church, Finance, High Society, Media Scarlet continue to make the headlines for their philanthropic work, with recent charities benefiting from the group including the flood victims in America and victims of the gang war that recently raged across the city. Scarlet are planning a large scale event sometime over the Christmas period, but further details have yet to be released. Street, Underworld Whilst The Sandernacht Group appear to have won the gang war and the major hostilities appear to have died down, this doesn’t mean that it’s all hunky dory on the streets. The Sandernacht Group and The Consortium have started squaring up against each other, although neither party has made the first move yet. The Consortium have steadily managed to increase their control of the city’s underworld over the last few months, far faster than any of the other gangs have ever managed. Whether they can continue to grow at this and how long it is before The Sandernacht Group decides that they’ve grown too big and need to be put down remains to be seen? Health, Police, Underworld The city’s underworld is still trying to figure out who runs The Consortium and what their agenda is after rumours that they are trying to control the cities vice trade have begun to emerge. Many of the cities most notorious pimps have been hospitalised and the girls taken off the streets creating an unusual dilemma for The Constabulary, do they try to stop the violence or do they let whoever is responsible carry on cleaning up the streets? The big question of course is why is The Consortium so keen to clean up? Health, Legal, Media, Street The Consortium is causing a real headache for the city’s authorities with its recent activities, as both Women’s Rights groups and the Health Authorities are unofficially praising their activities with regards the city’s vice trade. Rumour has it that they are offering a legitimate way out for anyone caught in the industry, and that they’ve implemented health checks for all of the girls as a way of “cleaning up” the business. Meanwhile The Constabulary is stuck between a rock and a hard place, with the law stating that The Consortium’s activities are illegal and the moral majority telling them to let them continue. Bureaucracy, Police, Street The sewers are still a major headache for everyone involved, although no one will be drawn on the subject. The Constabulary has stopped its regular patrols after it lost a couple more of its men down there, and the waste authorities are reporting major issues with the way that the system is operating. Even more worrying, things have started to turn up in the overflows, some of which are unrecognisable. Something is going on, but no one appears to have come up with a solution yet. Occult, Street I’m never going into the sewers again after what I saw last night, something’s not right down there. It all looks wrong, the angles are all over the place and you keep hearing these haunting noises, it’s just plain unsettling. The worrying thing is that whoever’s running things down there is taking all sorts of weird shit down there, vats and boxes with crawling things in, and when they saw me they sure didn’t want me to get out and tell everyone what I’d seen. How did I get out? Well, as well as they know the sewers, they don’t know them as well as me. ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station. Bureaucracy, Industry The city’s water supply continues to throw up oddities, with shortages in some areas and flooding in others, with the only people profiting from the situation being plumbers. Indeed it’s getting increasingly difficult to get an emergency plumber when you need one, leaving many a householder standing in an inch of water with no way to get rid of it. Finance, Industry, Media, Police, Politics, Street Militant environmentalists have been blamed for the recent firebombing of half a dozen petrol stations across the city. No one has been hurt in any of the attacks, but they have led to an increased price at the pump as resources become scarcer and the petrol companies have to employ a security firm to protect their properties. A further complication is that a number of deliveries have also been hijacked and the vehicles forced off the road, leading to further shortages. The big question is why are they doing it, surely the environmental impact of what they are doing is just as damaging as cars driving around? Finance, Industry, Occult, Street What if the recent “Oil War” is just a cynical ploy by the big corporations to get even more money out of us? What if they’re trying to get you to spend even more of your hard earned money, wouldn’t that make sense? After all, they’re all a bunch of money grabbing capitalist bastards out to rape the Earth for everything, so why not damage it to make some more money? Hey, if you’ve finished with that bottle I hope your going to recycle? ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station. High Society, Media, University KeeleUniversityhas finally revealed details of its proposed memorial to the students who were killed in Werrington Woods. The memorial will be an amalgamation of the two most popular schemes and will be form an area of peace and quiet in the middle of the campus where the students can go and study. Construction of the memorial will take place over the Christmas break to avoid causing disruption to the student’s studies.